A BRUSSELS STYLE WALL HANGING, 17/18th century, the rectangular centre depicting the Baptism of Clovis by Saint Remigius in the Abbey of Saint-Remi, Reims, contained within a broad border of interwoven rosettes, picked out in deep blue and earthen tones. 293 x 309cmClovis I (466 - 511AD) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler by transforming the original mode of governance from tribal chieftaincy to a hereditary monarchy. His father, Childeric I had founded the Merovingian Dynasty in c.457 but it was his son who succeeded in creating of a stable and in turn sustainable dynasty which would rule for a further three hundred years. Clovis is also renowned for his important relationship to Christianity and is often referred to as the first Christian king of France. A pagan at birth, Clovis converted to Christianity, mostly on the bequest of his wife Clotilde, in 496. His conversion is significant in its rejection of Arian Christianity, the prevailing faith of most other Germanic tribes of the period. The conversion is widely reflected upon in literary and decorative works such as this present example. Gregory of Tours, a Gallo-Roman historian was the first to produce a written record of the event, in which he describes the baptism taking place on Christmas Day 508AD following Clovis’ defeat of the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac. In a small church, which would subsequently become the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, Clovis is baptized by Saint Remigius (c.437 - 533 AD); a statue commemorating the occasion can still be seen today in the cloister of the church. Niamh Corcoran The inspiration for such tapestries often came from existing engravings or manuscript illustrations. The linear quality of engravings is reflected in the woven pattern of the tapestries in which a sense of depth or texture is expressed through line. A close point of reference for the compositional arrangement of this tapestry is a print contained in Right Rev. Richard Gilmour’s Bible History: Containing the Most Remarkable Events of the Old and New Testaments. Similar examples of tapestries can be found in the ‘Salle du Conseil Communal’ in the Hotel de Ville in Brussels. The town hall, a gothic building constructed in the 15th century is home to wonderful 17th and 18th century verdure wall tapestries. Belgium was an important center of production for verdure tapestries from the medieval period onwards producing pictorially sophisticated works in which numerous individuals were involved in the process from the original design, to preparatory charcoal cartoon and the final woven product. The representation of Clovis varies, from a Christ-like figure, nude but for swaddling in the baptismal font, or as in this present example, dressed in heraldry and armour - following his victorious battle- as a solider of Christ, kneeling before Remigius and attendants. The history of rulers converting to the Christian faith before or subsequent to a battle is not unique to Clovis, as Constantine had done a century earlier after the Battle of Milvian Bridge. These representations reflect the broad appeal for the tradition of public acts of piety, termed religion royale, in which the ruler is presented as a Christ-like figure enacting divine rituals. Such iconography reinforced the royal claim to a divinely sanctioned authority to rule.